Traditionally, music has been sold one copy at a time, in the form of albums or digital files. This method of distribution has been problematic for a number of reasons. For example, it may be difficult to prevent copies of the music from being made and distributed against the wishes of the recording artist or distributor. Furthermore, most of the revenue of the music sales is typically retained by a distribution or recording company, and only a relatively small amount is received by the artist.
Recently, music streaming has become a popular alternative to traditional music sales. A music streaming service may make a library of music available to a user. A music streaming service may monetize their service by charging a subscription fee; however, this may discourage some users from using the service and usage numbers may be depressed as a result. Alternatively, the music streaming service may offer a free version of the service that is supported by advertisements. This typically requires that an audible promotion is played between songs, which degrades the user experience.